Soccer update-- cancellations and more

Today's La Liga match between Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano was cancelled due to sabotage. (Apparently an electrical cable was cut.)

Above and below: Workers attempt to fix the lights 

Below: Fans outside the Estadio de Vellecas

In Italy, today's match between AS Roma and Cagliari was cancelled due to a dispute between Cagliari and Serie A authorities about whether home fans would be allowed to attend the match.

And finally, Milan's disastrous season continued with a 2-1 loss to Udinese. Highlights included two Milan players sent off with red cards (Cristian Zapata and Kevin Prince-Boateng) and continued speculation about whether Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri will be fired.

Below: Milan players after the match

Match report: Milan 1 - Bologna 0

• Goals Scored: Flamini 8' (See photo above-- the ball is visible just over Flamini's shoulder)
• What happened: Milan scored early and held on to win. They are in first place-- eight points ahead of Inter and nine ahead of Napoli with three matches left.
• What it was like to watch this match: Milan are good; Bologna are not. Milan had a reason try hard; Bologna did not. Milan scored early; Bologna did not. Milan had many other chances to score; Bologna did not. Therefore, watching this match was nothing less than pure torture-- for eighty-two+ minutes Milan were one stupid/flukey/extraordinary play away from disaster.
• Number of wide open headers Bologna missed during the second half: 2 (Like I said-- pure torture)
• Bologna player sent off undeservedly with a straight red card late in the second half: Della Rocca
• Evidence that there is a conspiracy to give Milan the Scudetto this season: Della Rocca's sending off, which completely ended Bologna's attacking threat. A penalty awarded to Milan against Napoli on February 28th for a debatable handball.
• Evidence that there is a conspiracy to prevent Milan from winning the Scudetto this season: The three game suspension given to Ibrahimovic for talking disrespectfully to the linesman at the end of Milan's 3-0 victory over Sampdoria.
• Milan players who made their debut today: Giacomo Beretta
• Milan players whose wives/girlfriends have apparently had babies recently: Antonio Cassano, Robinho, Thiago Silva, Urby Emanuelson
• What this match teaches us: Milan will win the Scudetto this season.

Below: Before the match, a video of Pope John Paul II was shown at the San Siro.

Below: Flamini doesn't score many goals, and certainly none as important as this one.

Great moments in World Cup history #6

Portugal defeated England on penalties in the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup.

A random, but interesting, red card

It seems like the Portuguese often get involved in things like this.

AC Milan 2009-2010 Season Statistical Highlights

Here are the statistical leaders for AC Milan during the 2009-2010 Serie A season:

Most games played: Ronaldinho (36)

Most games started: Ronaldinho (34)

Most minutes played: Andrea Pirlo (2952)

Most minutes played without scoring a goal (goalies excluded): Andrea Pirlo (2952)*

Most goals scored: Marco Borriello (14)

Most yellow cards: Massimo Ambrosini & Mathieu Flamini (10)

Most red cards: Massimo Ambrosini & Mathieu Flamini (2)

Fewest minutes played (of players who appeared at all): Rodney Strasser (7)

*Pirlo's amazing goal against Real Madrid came in the Champions League.

Below: Gennaro Gattuso received eight yellow cards this season. Here is a picture of the last one.

Coppa Italia (again)

Apparently there was more to this year's Coppa Italia than Milito's goal and Totti's attack on Balotelli.

Mid-week soccer update

In addition to fighting to win this year's Scudetto, Inter and Roma also faced each other in the finals of this year's Coppa Italia. Inter won 1-0, on a goal by Diego Milito. (See video below)

Apparently, at the end of the match, things got pretty vicious.


In other news, Tottenham Hotspur (pictured celebrating below) beat Manchester City 1-0 to claim fourth place in the Premier League. Spurs will be in next year's Champions League. Manchester City will not.

Match report: Milan 1 - Fiorentina 0

• Goals scored: Ronaldinho 77' (penalty)
• What happened: Milan was awarded a somewhat problematic penalty. Ronaldinho scored on the kick. (See video below)

• Why this win was important: Milan need to finish in third place in order to guarantee a spot in the Champions League next season. Fourth place may not be good enough, because if Inter fail to beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final (and not on penalties), then Serie A may lose its fourth Champions League spot. (See correction below)
• Milan players who received red cards today: Ambrosini
• Strange statistics cited by today's match commentator: According to the man on the television, today was Dida's 300th Serie A appearance in goal for Milan. In that time, Dida has allowed 2,423 goals. This would mean that Dida has allowed slightly more than 8 goals per game.
• Strange things heard on today's broadcast: There are appeared to be a large group of children at today's match. They could be heard chanting things such as, "Milan! Milan! Milan!" or "Borriello! Borriello! Borriello!" (when Borriello momentarily appeared to have hurt his ankle). Even more strangely, they appeared to have brought some sort of annoying plastic horn with them to help them in their chants. Two of the other popular chants were, "Milan! Honk! Honk! Milan! Honk! Honk! Milan! Honk! Honk!" and "Milan! Honk! Honk! Honk! Milan! Honk! Honk! Honk! Milan! Honk! Honk! Honk!" At times it appeared that the adult Milan fans were cheering extra loud in an attempt to drown the children out.
• What else happened in Serie A today: Roma beat Parma, to temporarily take back first place. Inter play Lazio tomorrow.
• What this match teaches us: Milan's only goal-scoring strategy seems to be falling down in the hope of being awarded penalties. Sometimes it works.

Highlights are below:

Correction: I believe that this is not completely accurate. The reduction in Champions League spots apparently would not take effect until after next season. Milan have guaranteed themselves a spot in next year's Champions League no matter what.

Champions League update: Barca 1 - Inter 0

Above: Thiago Motta is about to receive a red card.

Below: Thiago Motta receives a red card.

Yesterday, Inter Milan lost 1-0 to Barcelona. However, they won the two legs of the Champions League semi-final by an aggregate score of 3-2. They will face Bayern Munich in the final on May 22. Here are some random thoughts about the match:

• Thiago Motta's straight red card for pushing Sergio Busquets in the face was probably not deserved. It did not matter in the end, though.
• Pique's goal for Barca was clearly offside. It did not matter in the end, though.
• Inter came to defend their two-goal lead and played even more defensively after going down to ten men. By the second half, Barca goalie Victor Valdes was basically playing up at the halfway line.
• Inter's goalie, Julio Cesar, is very, very good. I hate him, and I hate the fact that he doesn't play for a team I like.
• For a fleeting second, I was filled with admiration for how well Inter were coping with adversity. Then I remembered how much I dislike Inter and was mad at myself for thinking such ridiculous things.
• I am also mad at Barca.
• The current Inter squad are basically the 1990s New York Yankees of European soccer-- merciless, unrelenting robot/bullies who always win when they need to.

Above and below: Inter coach Jose Mourinho and Barca keeper Victor Valdes push each other after the match. (Video can be found below.)

For match highlights, click here.

Match report: Sampdoria 2 - Milan 1

• Goals scored: Borriello 20', Cassano 54' (penalty), Pazzini 90+2'
• What happened: Sampdoria played better than Milan in the first half, but Milan was leading at halftime anyway. Early in the second half, Bonera brought down Cassano in the box, giving Sampdoria a penalty (and earning Bonera a red card). Down to ten men, Milan played much better for a while and had several chances to retake the lead-- Gattuso, Borriello, and Ronaldinho all came close. Then, at the very end, Sampdoria woke back up and pressured Milan until they finally scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time.
• What else happened today: Roma beat Lazio, so they are back in first place.
• Who Sampdoria's coach resembles: A cross between Peter Sellers, Jason Robards, and my mom's father.

• What this match teaches us: Milan has basically no chance to win the Scudetto this year.

Highlights are below:

Champions League Update: Semifinals are set

Above: Arjen Robben celebrates the winning goal

Below: Seconds earlier, the Manchester United players watch Robben's goal go in the net

All four Champions League quarterfinal ties are over, and here are the results:

• Barcelona defeated Arsenal
• Inter Milan beat CSKA Moscow
• Olympique Lyon beat Girondins Bordeaux
• Bayern Munich defeated Manchester United

Below: Messi scores one of his four goals against Arsenal on Tuesday

In the Bayern-Man Utd. match on Wednesday, Bayern arrived at Old Trafford with a 2-1 lead and hopes that Wayne Rooney would be unable to play due to injury. Rooney did start, however, and United quickly built up a 3-0 lead. Bayern scored at the end of the first half (on a goal by Olic), and then, in the second half, Manchester United's Rafael was sent off with his second yellow card, and Rooney had to leave due to a re-aggravation of his ankle injury. Arjen Robben then scored a pretty astounding goal to pull Bayern level 4-4 over the two legs of the tie. Due to the away-goals rule, Bayern advance.

After the match, United coach Alex Ferguson denounced the Bayern players for being "typical Germans."

For highlights, watch this:

When You Tube takes this video down, try this link instead.

The semifinals will see Barca play Inter and Lyon versus Bayern.

Great moments in World Cup history #4

2006 Round of 16: Portugal 1 - Holland 0

This match set a record for the number of red and yellow cards.

Great moments in World Cup history #2

1998 Argentina versus England

This game had everything-- Michael Owen's most famous goal, Argentina's clever goal off the free kick, Beckham's red card. Everybody knew about it and everybody watched it, even my wife at work, I think.

Match report: Inter 2 - Milan 0

• Goals scored: Milito 10', Pandev 65'
• What happened: Milan were up a man most of the match (Sneijder having been sent off in the first half on a straight red card for sarcastically clapping at the referee) but still never really had a chance. Seedorf and Borriello came close on headers in the second half, and Ronaldinho had a penalty kick stopped in stoppage time. Nesta did not play, but his substitute, Favalli, did not do half badly.
• What this match teaches us: Inter are still the better team.

If you must watch the highlights, they are below.

Liverpool - Manchester United: Red Card Report

Liverpool defeated Manchester United 2-0 today. During the course of the game, Manchester United fullback Nemanja Vidic (pictured below) was sent off with a red card. According to the announcers, this was the third consecutive Liverpool-Manchester United match in which Vidic has received a red card.

Later on in the match, Liverpool's Javier Mascherano (see photo below) received a red card as well. Apparently this was the first time in the last fifty-four Premier League matches that a Liverpool player has received a red card. Before today, the last Liverpool player to receive a red card was Javier Mascherano in a game against Manchester United.